MTL - Denghuaxiao

Chapter 72 Gap

The rain was falling, and the night in Shengjing was dark and gloomy, with a cold autumn air.

By the time Qi Chuan returned home, it was already dead of night.

The roof leaked, and the rainwater flowed down the wall, accumulating a small puddle on the ground. I accidentally stepped on it, and my thin-soled boots suddenly became soaked.

He pulled up his wet legs, pushed the door open and walked in.

There was a light on the table in the room, and a young woman in a satin shirt was sitting on a few couches outside, drinking wine. Brine shrimp shells were scattered all over the floor, and the room smelled of drunkenness.

 This is Qichuan's wife, Mrs. Ma.

She was already quite drunk. She squinted at Qi Chuan and looked at the water stains on Qi Chuan's clothes with disdain. She muttered: "It's so dirty!"

Qi Chuan ignored her, only glanced inside and said, "Is Jiu'er asleep?"

Jiuer is the son of Qi Chuan, Ma said.

 He nodded, took off his soaked coat, and threw it into the wooden bucket for washing clothes at the door.

Ma held the wine bottle and stared at his movements drunkenly for a long time. Suddenly, he moved a few steps forward, moved to the edge of the couch, and asked, "Has your son's academy been settled?"

Qi Chuan paused and shook his head.

Qi Jiuer is now at the age to enter school, and it is time to choose an academy to go to school. However, in the official school in Shengjing nowadays, he can't get into the good ones, and he doesn't look down on the bad ones. Qi Chuan was worried about this matter a few days ago. Two or three months passed, and Qi Jiuer's academy still had no whereabouts.

Hearing this, Ma's nose twitched, the corners of his mouth turned aside, and he spat: "Trash!"

Qi Chuan's forehead and heart beat faintly, and he shouted in a low voice: "Keep your voice down, be careful not to wake up Jiu'er!"

But Ma became more and more angry and cursed: "Useless thing, I told you a long time ago. I usually do more flattery to please the superiors. Now everyone who went to the trial court with you is better than you. You are still a recorder until now. Needless to say, your salary is not much, and you keep spending money every day. Look at yourself, you are as wet as a dog with no place to go, you just look glamorous, I was blind back then When I married you, I thought I was going to be an official’s wife, but unexpectedly I was here to live a hard life, you harmful piece of shit!”

Qi Chuan watched her mouth open and open, like a huge greedy fish under the dim light, swallowing up the shrimp shells all over the ground, together with the gloomy night.

 Mr. Ma was not the wife he married.

He followed Fan Zhenglian for many years, and followed him back to Shengjing City from Yuan'an County. He helped Fan Zhenglian judge many beautiful cases. He was Fan Zhenglian's best pen. Fan Zhenglian could not do without him. He took care of everything for him, including taking care of things for him. He became a marriage.

Mr. Ma is the niece of Mrs. Fan’s nanny, and her whole family works in the Fan family. Mrs. Fan told him about the niece of someone close to her. It was a sign of appreciation, trust and care, but also naked surveillance.

It is to tie him to the Fan family forever and completely, and to remind him at all times that he is not a famous scholar in the imperial examination, nor is he a resourceful county captain in Yuan'an County, but a person in the trial court. In name only, Xiao Lushi is an ordinary servant of the Fan family.

Mr. Ma has a fiery temperament and is greedy for enjoyment. After leaving the family, he only drank and cursed people all day long. He also disliked him for not being able to curry favor with the Fan family, so now he has no hope of career. For example, at this moment, when he came back in the rain, she didn't care about him at all and only cursed and scolded him.

“You are really poor at heart. Do you really think that reading a few sentences will make you great? You are just a lowly person who will be an unlucky slave for the rest of your life!”

He has heard this many times in daily life and has long been accustomed to it, and he cannot withstand the slightest disturbance in his heart. But I don't know if it was because the rain was too cold tonight and he was too tired. It suddenly reminded him of the ridicule in the Court of Justice.

 Slaves, untouchables, this is what they look like in the eyes of these people.

There were still piles of fresh eggs and sweet potatoes in the corner of the dark shabby house. They were covered with a layer of oilcloth to prevent them from getting wet from the leaking rain, but they stung the man's eyes instantly like a cold arrow.

They were local eggs that he went to the countryside to find. The matter of Jiu'er's admission to school had not yet been found, and Fan Zhenglian was always perfunctory, so he brought these gifts to Zhao Feiyan's house, thinking that women are always more kind-hearted, maybe He would give him a helping hand because he has worked hard for the Fan family for many years. After all, for the Fan family, this is just a piece of cake.

 But the native product was later delivered to another person intact.

The words of the maid next to the female doctor came to my ears again.

"I heard it all at the time. They said it was pickled food given by poor people. It was rotten and it took up space in the house, so they gave it to us!"

 Poor ghost...let it rot...

 Qichuan's fists couldn't help but slowly clenched.

 He is like a dog raised by the Fan family, with no self-esteem, no future, and nothing.

　　In the rainy night, Ma was still cursing: "I don't take care of myself by soaking in urine. I am a short-lived slave with nothing to hope for. You are asking my whole family to drink from the northwest wind..."

“Shut up!” Qi Chuan kicked the table over, causing the shrimp shells all over the table to scatter on the floor.

Ma was stunned. When she usually scolds Qi Chuan, this man never talks back, just like a talkative gourd. She raised her head and looked at her husband, who had always been taciturn, but saw that his eyes were gloomy, as if filled with fire, like an evil ghost on a rainy night, looking at her fiercely.

She was suddenly frightened and did not continue to curse. Until the man kicked away the trash can in front of him, as if he couldn't stand the cramped house anymore, slammed the door, turned around and rushed into the rain outside.

After a long time, Mr. Ma came back to his senses, spat in front of the empty door, and spoke bitterly.

"Those who die young should be taught to die outside!"

 …

A few bursts of autumn rain washed away the last remaining bit of inflammation in Shengjing.

 After the white dew, it cools down overnight. Respectful people get up early in the morning to "collect the dew". It is written in the medical scriptures: The autumn dew on the heads of the herbs, collected when it is still dry, can cure all diseases, relieve thirst, make the body light and not hungry, and the muscles are refreshed. "

Those who are fastidious have this leisure and elegance, but students are very busy. Tomorrow is the first day of August, and autumn is around the corner. Students are all finishing their writing at home. Blind He's calligraphy business in Miaokou is surprisingly good - there are always people who want to get a good fortune test for their son who is taking the exam.

The vendors on West Street closed their stalls earlier than usual. At Wu Youcai's house at the fresh fish store, the white flags and banners had not yet been taken out. At first glance, it was deserted.

Aunt Wu was buried seven days ago. Blind Man He picked an auspicious day and a geomantic treasure land to bury Aunt Wu. Afterwards, he said to Wu Youcai: "This is an auspicious place. Don't worry, young master. Your Majesty will be buried here." If he becomes the number one scholar, he will definitely become an official in the future."

Wu Youcai listened and just smiled faintly.

 His mother has passed away. Whether he is a scholar or an official, his mother can no longer see him.

As the autumn wind whimpered, Wu Youcai pulled out the weeds at the entrance of the courtyard, turned back and went into the house to pack up the pens and papers he would use tomorrow.

 In the past, every time before autumn, his mother would carefully prepare these for him. Now that his mother has passed away, he is taking care of things on his own. Thinking back to the past, he feels even more desolate. Wu Youcai bent down and pulled the old test basket out from under the bed.

This test basket was bought by his mother from a successful candidate for fifty cents when he first entered school, saying it was because of his happiness. Unexpectedly, more than ten years later, when his mother had passed away, he still had not got what he wanted.

After dragging out the test basket, he did not open the book box. Instead, he sat down on the ground and glanced at the small table in the corner. A palm-sized paper package came to him.

That was the paper package given to him by Lu Zhuo.

This paper wrapped in a dark room seemed to emit a faint white light, seizing all his attention, like an impermanent devil sitting at the table, smiling at him with evil intentions.

 Wu Youcai was a little startled.

Lu Zhen’s words that day came to his ears again.

“Wu Youcai, it’s been twelve years since you were dismissed for the first time when you were eighteen. Twelve years have passed. Have you never thought about why you never passed the exam?”

"If the fraud in the imperial examination is not dealt with, then after you hang up mourning papers and buy land to bury your mother, you will be just like before, living in mediocrity for the rest of your life. This is your fate."

"If someone is killed in the examination room, and a lot of people die, it will not be a trivial matter that the Ministry of Rites alone can deal with. The Trial Court, Zhao Prison Division, and even the Military and Horse Division will all show up. The more people there are, the harder it will be to turn it into a serious matter. Small, once the interests of all parties are mixed, things that were originally simple will become complicated."

“Those examiners are dishonest and disrupt the officialdom, causing talented people to be suppressed by those without talent. If it were me..."

 “Of course, kill him.”

kill him…

 Wu Youcai suddenly shuddered.

He came to his senses quickly, as if waking up from a frightening dream, and firmly grasped the lid of the test basket with both hands.

 How can it be so easy to kill an examiner? Not to mention whether this thing can be done, he is now alone, and all his relatives have passed away, so he does not need to worry about hurting anyone. However, since he was a child, he has said: "Think far away to promote the virtues of the ancestors, near to think about the legacy of my parents; up to think about the kindness of serving the country." "The scholar who thinks below about the blessing of his family; externally he thinks about the needs of others, and internally he thinks about the evils of himself." To him, killing innocent people for his own selfish desires is like the temptation of evil spirits.

The examiner had no enmity with him. Even if he was bribed by others as Lu Zhu said, the crime would not lead to death. How could he take action?

What's more, he has been a common man for so many years and has long been accustomed to swallowing his anger. He doesn't even think about fighting for any unfairness or oppression.

If it were eighteen-year-old Wu Youcai, he might still have some courage to contend with the troubled times and the powerful, but now Wu Youcai, who has been wasted by the world, has long lost that spirit, like a piece of ironed ink paper, lying flat. In heaven and earth, let the wind and rain destroy you.

"Fairness" is a luxury thing. The poor dare not dream about it. Maybe they can only get a little bit of it if they die and go to the underworld to see the judge of Hell.

 He shook his head, as if to get rid of all the chaotic thoughts in his mind, lowered his head and opened the lid of the examination basket with force.

There are some old things in the examination basket. He wants to put some new paper and ink in them and take them to the dormitory tomorrow.

He reached out and took out a few pieces of old paper. After a few pulls, his fingertips suddenly touched something hard. He was confused. He took it out and saw that it was a bag wrapped in layers of red floral cloth.

 This is...Wu Youcai concentrated.

The saffron cloth is the leftover bits of cloth that my mother used to mend clothes. This bag was probably put in the exam basket secretly by her mother. He picked up the bag and ran his fingers over the rough floral cloth, as if he could feel his mother's remaining warmth.

After watching for a while, Wu Youcai tried to open the bag. Once he opened it, he found that the bag was tightly wrapped layer by layer. It took five or six layers to be completely opened. There were some finely chopped hay and hay scattered inside. Around the room, ten silver coins were neatly placed.

It turned out to be one hundred taels of silver.

Wu Youcai was stunned for a moment.

 This is the money his mother left for him!

It was like a needle suddenly pierced into his heart, a deep pain suddenly spread from his heart, and Wu Youcai's tears immediately burst out.

His mother was frugal all her life, killing and selling fish, earning only a dozen cents per fish. He didn't know how long it would take his mother to save the one hundred taels of silver, but it must be the savings she had saved for him through all the hard work. She didn't tell Wu Youcai, perhaps because she was afraid that Wu Youcai would use the money to buy useless medicinal materials, or for other reasons.

 The Confucian scholar sat on the ground, his tears hitting the ground like gushing fountains. He seemed to see his mother dragging her broken body, exchanging a box full of copper coins for ten beautiful silver ingots, wiping them clean one by one, carefully wrapping them in cloth and hiding them in the examination basket. He seemed to be able to see his mother standing in front of him, smiling as usual and comforting him: "My son will become an official in the future after passing the exam. He will have to take care of the surroundings and pick at the ropes. Don't ask anyone for the money." Disdainful!"

His mother's voice and smile seemed to be right in front of him, but he lay on the ground mourning and wailing. In the midst of his sorrow, strong resentment and unwillingness arose in his heart.

 He will never pass the exam, he will never be an official! Because the ladder going up was blocked by someone, because he was just a poor man who killed fish in the fish shop!

Wu Youcai raised his head suddenly and stared fiercely at the oil paper package on the corner of the table. In the dim light, the oil paper package sneered silently at him amid the bright silver ingots scattered on the ground.

As if being bewitched, he slowly stretched out his hand towards the oil paper envelope.

 Why?

。 With its stems an inch in diameter, it shades this hundred-foot strip...

He doesn’t want to be a pine tree in a stream all his life, nor does he want to be a seedling on the mountain.

Lu Zong's heart-shaking words slowly emerged from his mind again.

 In the mourning hall when the storm was about to come, the Confucian scholar asked Lu Huan: "Why did Doctor Lu want to help me?"

The woman looked at him silently, without answering. Her eyes were filled with dark mist, making it difficult to see clearly.

Wu Youcai knew in his heart that she wanted to take advantage of him, so the so-called words of helping him must have an ulterior motive. But at this moment, he was willing to bewitch her. I am grateful that she found a desperate and happy way for him in this resentment and misery, so that he would not sink in this endless misery.

 The Confucian scholar's fingertips touched the paper package on the table.

The paper bag was as cold as a cold curse. In an instant, there seemed to be an impermanent kid laughing heartily behind him, as if celebrating the final victory in the game.

So he clutched the paper package tightly in his palms, leaned down in the empty room, and cried silently.

 (End of this chapter)